| Author |
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873 |
| Title |
The Coming Race
|
| Note |
Reading ease score: 58.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.
|
| Credits |
Produced by Fred Ihde and David Widger
|
| Summary |
"The Coming Race" by Edward Bulwer Lytton is a speculative fiction novel written in the late 19th century. The story follows an unnamed narrator who embarks on a journey deep into the earth’s interior, where he encounters a mysterious and highly advanced subterranean civilization known as the Vril-ya. The novel delves into themes of human evolution, utopian societies, and the interplay of technology and nature, primarily centered around the enigmatic force of "vril," which the inhabitants of this hidden world harness for various purposes. The opening of the novel introduces the protagonist, a young man from America who, after losing his father, opts for a life of exploration. He joins an engineer on an expedition into a mine, where they discover an abyss that leads to a hidden world illuminated by artificial light and inhabited by strange beings. The engineer, after witnessing a curious and ominous spectacle in the chasm, becomes anxious and withdrawn. Eventually, the narrator convinces him to descend again. However, tragedy strikes when the engineer falls to his death, leaving the narrator to navigate this new and awe-inspiring domain alone. As he explores his surroundings, he is struck by the remarkable landscapes and intriguing beings that challenge his perceptions of society and existence. This sets the stage for a philosophical and adventurous exploration of the relationship between the surface world and the remarkable civilization below. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PR: Language and Literatures: English literature
|
| Subject |
Science fiction
|
| Subject |
Utopias -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Utopian fiction
|
| Subject |
Civilization, Subterranean -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Underground areas -- Fiction
|
| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
1951 |
| Release Date |
Feb 19, 2006 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Jun 5, 2022 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
794 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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